Course Outline 2012
HRMGMT 705: STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
(20 POINTS)
Quarter 3 (1126)
Course Prescription
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The role of HR strategy in underpinning organisational viability and its potential to
contribute to competitive advantage. The importance of contextual factors in shaping HR
strategy. HR strategy, SMEs and entrepreneurial growth. Typologies of HR systems and
their links to performance outcomes.
Programme and Course Advice
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Prerequisites: HRMGMT 702, HRMGMT 707, HRMGMT 708.
Goals of the Course
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This course examines the role of HRM in business viability and relative performance.
Human resource strategy is an essential part of any credible understanding of business
strategy and not some kind of dubious appendage to it. When competently handled,
HRM helps the firm to operate cost-effectively in the industries in which it competes and
legitimately in the societies in which it is embedded. The course considers the potential
of HRM to enhance organisational flexibility and help create competitive advantage. It
examines HRM in dynamic and complex contexts and discusses practical ways of
improving strategic HR planning in firms.
Learning Outcomes
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By the end of this course it is expected that the student will be able to:
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1. demonstrate an advanced understanding of the goals of HRM, and apply this
understanding in practical situations;
2. demonstrate an advanced understanding of the role of both contextual factors and
general principles in strategic HRM, and apply this understanding in practical
situations;
3. demonstrate an advanced understanding of the chain of links between management
intentions in HRM and organisational outcomes, and apply this understanding in
practical situations; and
4. operate as a ‘strategic partner’, helping their organisation to analyse its external
environment and internal capabilities and develop a strategic HR plan to enhance its
long-run performance.
Content Outline
Week 1
Week
Week
Week
Week
Week
2
3
4
5
6
Course Introduction
What are the goals of HRM?
Strategy and the process of strategic management
Strategic HRM: ‘best fit’ or ‘best practice’?
Strategic HRM and sustained competitive advantage
Work systems and the changing economics of production
Linking HR systems to organisational performance
Week
Week
Week
Week
7
8
9
10
Meetings to examine individual strategic analysis NO CLASS
HR strategy and industry dynamics
Strategic HR planning
Course review
Learning and Teaching
This course is taught over 10 weeks of weekly evening sessions at the Owen G Glenn
Building, Business School, 12 Grafton Rd, Auckland City Campus.
Teaching Staff
Professor Peter Boxall
Phone: 373 7599 Ext: 87355
Room 382, Owen Glenn Building
E-mail: p.boxall@auckland.ac.nz
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GSE Support Staff
Office: OGGB 3114
Tel: (09) 923 1719
Email: gse@auckland.ac.nz
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Learning Resources
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Required text: Peter Boxall & John Purcell (2011) Strategy and Human Resource
Management. (3rd ed.). Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan
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The text is supplemented by readings from the University’s holdings of e-journals. Please
download these readings from the course page in the Library, accessible through CECIL.
Preparation for each class will involve pre-reading of the relevant chapters and articles,
assisted by weekly lecture slides, containing key points and questions, placed on CECIL.
Assessment
20%
20%
60%
_____
100%
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1. Oral exam
2. In-class participation
4. Strategic HR plan
Total:
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Final grade: in computing the overall grade, the grade for the oral exam can be dropped
in favour of the grade for the strategic HR plan, if the latter is higher. This is done to
foster learning in the paper.
The broad relationship between these assessments and the course learning outcomes is
as follows:
Learning Outcome
Oral exam
In-class
participation
Strategic HR plan
1
x
x
x
2
x
x
x
3
x
x
x
4
x
x
CHEATING AND PLAGIARISM
The University of Auckland regards cheating as a serious academic offence.
Plagiarism is a form of cheating. In coursework assignments submitted for marking,
plagiarism can occur if you use the work and ideas of others without explicit
acknowledgment. Work can be plagiarised from many sources, including books, journal
articles, the internet, and other students’ assignments. A student’s assessed work may
be reviewed against electronic source material using computerised detection
mechanisms. Upon reasonable request, students may be required to provide an
electronic version of their work for computerised review.
The way of avoiding plagiarism is to reference your work properly. If you are in doubt
about how to reference properly, ask someone – your lecturers, tutors and the Student
Learning Centre are good places to start. Please refer to the following website for
further information about academic referencing: www.cite.auckland.ac.nz/
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The document Guidelines: Conduct of Coursework provides further advice on how to
avoid plagiarism. It can be found at: www.business.auckland.ac.nz/conductcoursework
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The penalties for plagiarism can be severe, including losing some or all of the marks for
the assignment. Major offences can be sent to the University’s Discipline Committee,
where further penalties can be imposed.